A San Francisco elementary school teacher who allegedly held a student over the edge of a second-floor balcony on campus was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony child endangerment, officials said.

Advertisement

Andres Tobar, a teacher at Marshall Elementary School on 15th Street in the Mission District, turned himself in to police around 11:30 a.m., police said in a statement.

Tobar, 47, was seen “cradling a student and holding the student over the balcony” on Dec. 19, said Gentle Blythe, a spokeswoman for San Francisco Unified School District.

The school immediately placed Tobar on administrative leave, Blythe said. The child was unharmed. A police investigation began in early January.

The San Francisco Examiner reports Tobar has been a bilingual teacher at the school for more than two decades. He is beloved by parents and students and has won awards for his work as an educator.

On Wednesday morning, a group of Tobar's defenders gathered outside Marshall Elementary School to let their voices be heard.

“He would never mistreat his students,” said Victor Mul, 17. “He was just playing with the kid, like he does with all his students. He treated his students like they were his own kids.”